The Community Choice Grants: A Participatory Grantmaking Pilot at Metro
Start Date
3-11-2024 4:00 PM
Abstract
Traditional governmental and institutional funding processes oftener than not reinforce historic power imbalances and inequities. To address this inequity, the Metro Nature in Neighborhoods Community Choice Grants adapted a participatory model to develop a community-centered grant program where community members are the source of project ideas, supported by institutional resources in the development of those ideas, and ultimately decide which investments to fund in their communities.
Developed with numerous community touchpoints to allow for engagement and feedback, this program closes the gaps between communities and individuals accustomed to navigating institutional systems and those with less experience to fund projects that reflect the needs and desires of their communities and puts community members first in proposing, developing, and choosing public investments in parks and natural spaces.
This presentation will discuss how Metro, in centering environmental justice, racial equity, and climate resilience, adapted a participatory model using community direction to fund parks and natural area grants, the importance of community-driven process and community-centered decision making, and the rewards and risks of participatory processes like the Community Choice Grants. The presentation will also focus on the novel techniques and methods used to engage community in meaningful ways to deliver climate adaptive capital projects.
Join us for an exploration of this exciting new program!
Subjects
Climate Change, Environmental policy, Habitat restoration, Water quality
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/41392
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 License.
The Community Choice Grants: A Participatory Grantmaking Pilot at Metro
Traditional governmental and institutional funding processes oftener than not reinforce historic power imbalances and inequities. To address this inequity, the Metro Nature in Neighborhoods Community Choice Grants adapted a participatory model to develop a community-centered grant program where community members are the source of project ideas, supported by institutional resources in the development of those ideas, and ultimately decide which investments to fund in their communities.
Developed with numerous community touchpoints to allow for engagement and feedback, this program closes the gaps between communities and individuals accustomed to navigating institutional systems and those with less experience to fund projects that reflect the needs and desires of their communities and puts community members first in proposing, developing, and choosing public investments in parks and natural spaces.
This presentation will discuss how Metro, in centering environmental justice, racial equity, and climate resilience, adapted a participatory model using community direction to fund parks and natural area grants, the importance of community-driven process and community-centered decision making, and the rewards and risks of participatory processes like the Community Choice Grants. The presentation will also focus on the novel techniques and methods used to engage community in meaningful ways to deliver climate adaptive capital projects.
Join us for an exploration of this exciting new program!